''Chandra'' is a 2013 Indian

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

film, simultaneously made in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

languages. Directed by

Roopa Iyer Roopa Iyer is a film director and actor. Career She played the lead actress in the movie "Daatu". She directed and wrote the movie '' Mukhaputa''. In 2013, she directed & produced her bilingual big budget film ''Chandra'' in Kannada and Tamil. ...

, it stars

Shriya Saran Shriya Saran Bhatnagar (; born 11 September 1982) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi-language films. Although Saran aspired to become a well-known dancer, she became an actress with her film debut in 2001 ...

and Prem Kumar. The film deals with the life of a last generation princess and her love story. The film was released on 27 June 2013 to positive reviews and emerged as a high success at the Kannada Box office. The Tamil version of the film was released on 14 February 2014.

Plot

The story revolves around rajkumari Ammani Chandravathi (

), a princess, and Chandrahasa ( Prem Kumar) a music teacher. The two falls in love with each other. But the princess is engaged to Arya (

Ganesh Venkatraman Ganesh Venkatraman is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. He had acted in Radha Mohan's ''Abhiyum Naanum'' (2008), before working in '' Unnaipol Oruvan'' (2009) and ''Kandahar'' (2010). Career Ganesh began his ac ...

), settled in the US, against her wishes. She is not at all impressed by the US culture and tries to contact Chandrahasa to express her feelings. In another development, Chandrahasa promises his father that he would forget Chandravathi and allow her to marry Arya. But on the wedding day, the story takes a dramatic turn which ends on a happy note.

Cast

as Maharani Ammanmani Chandravathy * Prem Kumar as Chandrahasa *

as Arya *

Srinath Narayana Swamy (born 28 December 1944), known by his stage name Srinath, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Kannada cinema. He holds the position of vice-president of the Kannada television channel Udaya TV. He is ...

as Maharaja * Vijayakumar as Guruji Parameshwara *

Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience". Vivek may refe ...

as Yuvaraj Sukumar *

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

Sukanya Sukanya ( sa, सुकन्या, lit=wonderful virgin, translit=Sukanyā) is a princess In Hindu mythology. She is the daughter of Sharyati, the son of Vaivasvata Manu, and the wife of the sage Chyavana. Legend Marriage According to ...

as Queen Sarala Devi * Sumithra as Lalitha *

Sadhu Kokila Sahaya Sheelan Shadrach (born 24 March 1966) known by his screen name Sadhu Kokila, is an Indian musician, actor, comedian, film director and producer, and an occasional screenwriter and lyricist who works in Kannada cinema. He began his care ...

as Andy Roberts * Cell Murugan as Lakajarao / Kilaku *

Suchendra Prasad K. Suchendra Prasad (born 1973) is an Indian theatre, film and television actor. Before beginning his career in Kannada cinema, he worked as theater actor with playwrights such as B. V. Karanth and D. R. Ankur. During this time, he also directed ...

* Yash as the dancer in the song "Tasse Otthu"/"Raaja Raajan"

Production

Development

has studied the life of quite a few royal families in India to arrive at a subject for her film. The last branches of Royal Families are not in a position to adjust to normal social life. They do not get the right match to lead a royal life that is a gift for them from ancestors. On this basis Roopa Iyer has added the eternal 'Love' and made a meaningful and beautiful love story subject. The royal families taken over by the government facing a perturbed situation is shown in this movie.

Casting

had initially considered

Ramya Ramya (Sanskrit: रम्य) is a Sanskrit female given name, which means "pleasant" and "delightful". Notable people * Ramya (born 1982), Indian actress and politician * Ramya Barna (born 1986), Indian actress * Ramya Krishnan (born 1970), ...

for the lead role and even signed her for the lead role. However the actress was dropped from the film later as she was not in good terms with the director and the fact that she skipped

Kalaripayattu Kalaripayattu (; also known simply as Kalari) is an Indian martial art that originated in modern-day Kerala, a state on the southwestern coast of India. Kalaripayattu is known for its long-standing history within Indian martial arts, and is ...

class required for her role to perform stunts. Following that, various actresses such as

Dia Mirza Dia Mirza Rekhi (born Dia Handrich; 9 December 1981) is an Indian model, actress, producer, and social worker who predominantly works in Hindi films. Mirza won the title of Miss Asia Pacific International in 2000 after being crowned Femina Mis ...

Amala Paul Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language ...

Amrita Rao Amrita Rao (born 7 June 1981), is an Indian actress who is known primarily for her work in Hindi films. Rao made her acting debut in ''Ab Ke Baras'' (2002), which earned her a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut in 2003. She su ...

and

Aindrita Ray Aindrita Ray (born 3 March 1985) is an Indian actress, primarily appearing in Kannada films. She made her acting debut in 2007, starring in ''Meravanige'' and went on to appear in several commercially successful films, establishing herself as a ...

was considered for the role. Then she finalized

as the leading lady. Saran who earlier made her debut in Kannada cinema through '' Arasu'' opposite

Puneeth Rajkumar Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), colloquially known as Appu, was an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter, and producer, who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of actor and matinee idol Dr. Rajk ...

in a cameo role immediately accepted the offer after reading the script. Furthermore, actress

Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramy ...

and singer

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...

were chosen for a cameo appearance. Prem Kumar played the protagonist in the film. P. H. K. Doss took the spot behind the camera. Yesteryear actors

and Sumithra was signed to appear in supporting roles.

has also been roped in to play the protagonist in this film. Tamil actor Vivek made his Kannada debut.

Filming

Twenty percent of the shooting was held in USA and rest in India. It was 50 plus days schedule

had planned for her second direction movie. In

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

and

Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

, Roopa Iyer had chalked out shooting schedules with Mumbai-based Media Networks G.

Soundtrack

Kannada

Tamil

Reception

Critical response

A critic from ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' scored the film at 3.5 out of 5 stars and says "Shriya Saran for her excellent portrayal of the princess. She impresses with her expression and dialogue delivery. Prem is superb as a music teacher and has given life to his character. Srinath shines as Shriya’s father. Music by Gowtham Srivathsa is impressive. PKH Das has done an excellent work with his camera". A Sharadhaa from

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

wrote "Music by debutant Gautam Srivatsa adds a classic touch. Cameraman PHK Doss has managed to capture the beauty of Shriya well. The verdict: Shot in a light-hearted manner, with a bright palette of colours, and aided by good performances by the actors, the movie is appealing". B S Srivani from

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

wrote "Prem and Shriya tease and delight the audience with their expressions and body language. Gautam Srivatsa’s music with evocative lyrics heighten the sense of yearning. All in all, Chandra mesmerises like a full moon but the pleasure wanes in the company of avoidable mistakes". A critic from

Bangalore Mirror ''Bangalore Mirror'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Bangalore, India. It is a deputed newspaper and is the second-largest circulating English newspaper in the city ''Vijay Times'' ''Vijay Times'' was an English newspaper st ...

wrote "The comedy track with two of the best comedians from Kannada and Tamil, Sahdu Kokila and Vivek, falls flat. The slow pace does not help either. The two stars are cinematographer PHK Doss and composer Gautam Srivatsa".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chandra 2013 films 2010s Kannada-language films Indian romantic drama films 2010s Tamil-language films Indian multilingual films 2013 multilingual films Films about royalty Indian romantic fantasy films 2010s romantic fantasy films